Transparency International responds to Cameron comments regarding Nigeria, Afghanistan and UK Summit
British PM Cameron and President Buhari
Responding to the recent comments by David Cameron [in which he described Nigeria as a "fantastically corrupt" country], Cobus de Swardt, Managing Director of Transparency International said:
“There is no doubt that historically, Nigeria and Afghanistan have had very high levels of corruption, and that continues to this day. But the leaders of those countries have sent strong signals that they want things to change, and the London Anti-Corruption Summit creates an opportunity for all the countries present to sign up to a new era. This affects the UK as much as other countries: we should not forget that by providing a safe haven for corrupt assets, the UK and its Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies are a big part of the world’s corruption problem.”
Press contact(s):
Chris Sanders
T: +49 30 34 38 20 666
E: press@transparency.org
Watch the British PM make his remarks about Nigeria
Meanwhile, President
Muhammadu Buhari, has said that he was "deeply shocked and embarrassed" by
Mr. Cameron's remarks. In Statement issued in Abuja Nigeria
“That, we believe is the reason they chose him as a keynote speaker at the
pre-summit conference.”
Since coming into office, the Buhari regime has arrested and arraigned several high-ranking members of the opposition party, the PDP, in a high-profile anti-corruption campaign that has been widely applauded.
Some observers, however, think the anti-graft effort has been more successful in the media than in courtrooms. Although, virtually all the accused persons have been tried and sentenced on the pages of the newspapers, not a single one has been subjected to a successful trial in an open court.
Fingers have also been pointed at several top members of the ruling party who have been accused of large-scale corruption, some of which are serving in Buhari's government. None of the has been invited by the relevant agencies or arraigned in court to establish their innocence. This had led many critics to conclude that the anti-corruption war may just be another political strategy for demarketing the opposition to the the advantage of the ruling APC in future elections.
Responding to the recent comments by David Cameron [in which he described Nigeria as a "fantastically corrupt" country], Cobus de Swardt, Managing Director of Transparency International said:
“There is no doubt that historically, Nigeria and Afghanistan have had very high levels of corruption, and that continues to this day. But the leaders of those countries have sent strong signals that they want things to change, and the London Anti-Corruption Summit creates an opportunity for all the countries present to sign up to a new era. This affects the UK as much as other countries: we should not forget that by providing a safe haven for corrupt assets, the UK and its Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies are a big part of the world’s corruption problem.”
Press contact(s):
Chris Sanders
T: +49 30 34 38 20 666
E: press@transparency.org
T: +49 30 34 38 20 666
E: press@transparency.org
Watch the British PM make his remarks about Nigeria
Meanwhile, President
Muhammadu Buhari, has said that he was "deeply shocked and embarrassed" by
Mr. Cameron's remarks. In Statement issued in Abuja
“The
Prime Minister must be looking at an old snapshot of Nigeria
“That, we believe is the reason they chose him as a keynote speaker at the pre-summit conference.”
Since coming into office, the Buhari regime has arrested and arraigned several high-ranking members of the opposition party, the PDP, in a high-profile anti-corruption campaign that has been widely applauded.
Some observers, however, think the anti-graft effort has been more successful in the media than in courtrooms. Although, virtually all the accused persons have been tried and sentenced on the pages of the newspapers, not a single one has been subjected to a successful trial in an open court.
Fingers have also been pointed at several top members of the ruling party who have been accused of large-scale corruption, some of which are serving in Buhari's government. None of the has been invited by the relevant agencies or arraigned in court to establish their innocence. This had led many critics to conclude that the anti-corruption war may just be another political strategy for demarketing the opposition to the the advantage of the ruling APC in future elections.
“That, we believe is the reason they chose him as a keynote speaker at the pre-summit conference.”
Since coming into office, the Buhari regime has arrested and arraigned several high-ranking members of the opposition party, the PDP, in a high-profile anti-corruption campaign that has been widely applauded.
Some observers, however, think the anti-graft effort has been more successful in the media than in courtrooms. Although, virtually all the accused persons have been tried and sentenced on the pages of the newspapers, not a single one has been subjected to a successful trial in an open court.
Fingers have also been pointed at several top members of the ruling party who have been accused of large-scale corruption, some of which are serving in Buhari's government. None of the has been invited by the relevant agencies or arraigned in court to establish their innocence. This had led many critics to conclude that the anti-corruption war may just be another political strategy for demarketing the opposition to the the advantage of the ruling APC in future elections.
